>> from bloomberg world headquarters in new york, i am mark crumpton. this is "bottom line." the intersection of business and economics with a main street perspective. tonight, budget negotiators worked to end three years of fiscal gridlock in washington. members of united states a midnight they face deadline to sign up with health coverage. we'll find out how to buy and spend bitcoins. >> to our viewers here in the united states and those of you joining us from around the world, welcome. we have full coverage of the stocks and stories making headlines. su keenan looks at mcdonald's

sales decline in the united states. let's begin in washington where phil mattingly has details on negotiations. what are the outstanding issues and the talks? days beforeour more we reach the deadline when negotiators are supposed to finalize a potential budget deal. what it has been. finding a revenue. to basically bridge a gap stop negotiators working with $1 trillion. the biggest sticking point for democrats is benefits. between the suggested numbers in the top line number is had how much federal and please how to put in to retirement accounts. some democrats are weary. but what about unemployment benefits? democrats are trying to push for an increase in the deadline.

>> people familiar said it will not happen. a sticking point. they wanted this included. they are willing to leave it out as long as republicans opened the door to put it through another vehicle. as of now, the extension needed to be passed by december 28 who lose emergency benefits will not be included in the budget deal. but lawmakers expected to only be at least at this point and session another four days. have the budget. you have unemployment benefits. what else are they going to try to finish up? >> a lot to do and very little time. what harry reid laid out today is a very long list of items they want to complete. funding of the pentagon. nominations. federal reserve chair janet yellen. she is on the dock. the farm bill. an important piece of legislation that today are

trying to reconcile. chambers foroth the a ton to do. they are really trying to finish as much as they can. >> a number of lawmakers are boarded a plane to south africa. they will be joining president obama at the memorial service for nelson mandela. you pose problems for all of the does not sound like you. more than 20 lawmakers on their way for the memorial service. they should be back by wednesday. we expect if there is a budget deal, it would happen by late tomorrow. subject should happen later. it should not cause a big problem. rex phil mattingly joining us tonight. a victory for wall street, regulators will not require ceos to confirm they are complying with the vockel rule according

to people familiar with tell us the wording will be a relief to who werek executives concerned they would have to personally guarantee and their firms were in compliance. instead, they would have to sign off on having policies and systems in place. five agencies are set to approve. the mostation is among complex and controversial arising from the dodd frank act in 2010 to overhaul the banking crisis. to the credit the congressional health care clock is ticking. biting into the day, lawmakers need to enroll in a plan under obama care or risk losing their government subsidy. peter cook has more. >> by having to sign up for obama care, lawmakers are eating some with her cooking and facing glitches that their constituents are seeing as well. the process is a little different.

the reality is and they have more options than average americans. they can pick among 100 gold levels. the government picks up as much as 75% of remembrance. that means the d.c. health exchange. empress of spared the same problems. john boehner said it took him several hours to sign up for his individual plant and it is not like the end result. in a hundred dollar -- an $800 a month bill. >> they will double. my co-pay will triple under obamacare. >> many democrats reported no big problems. they are getting the better coverage and cheaper premiums. lawmakers have a choice. they can opt out. that could cost them cash. a senator decided to enroll at and hee weight -- way gets no government subsidy. he is paying nearly $600 a month

in premiums. others do not need to roll the they are covered by other insurance. ted cruz is covered by his wife's plan. she wears a goldman sachs. for thepassing democrats have tried to make an goldman covers an issue in this debate. only one guest colleague is down one who said he -- colleague who said he will pay the penalty. >> the botched rollout of healthcare.gov may have served as a cautionary tale for other u.s. agencies. the fcc announced decided to push back its broadcast auction to make sure the software works. megan hughes reports. tom wheeler said the systems and need to work from the moment the first bid is placed.

unlike healthcare.gov, he is willing to push back the timeline. the original plan was for the end of the year. in spectrum auction would be 2014. wheeler has pushed back to 2015. a new timetable will be voted on. he said "i defined the complexity of this process as being like a rubik's cube. as part of our system, we will check and recheck the software and system components." here is why it is important. sold in blocks for companies like verizon and at&t. it will be key in dealing with more and more mobile traffic. as the delay, on both sides seem to be understanding. a rep from at&t said it needs to be done right and broadcasters like cbs and fox and disney were complaining that agency was rushed. one analyst said it is better to have the systems in place and working on delayed the launch

weather than what was seen with the healthcare.gov. reportedly millions of visitors tried to visit when it went live but only a handful could use it. another way wheeler is doing things differently is either will be a data version. there will be testing. the technology will be demonstrated in a mock auction. one of the big complaints about the exchange was not adequate into to and testing before it launched. >>, god, for over 30 years, -- coming up, for over 30 years iranand israeli -- relations have been strained. "bottom line"n continues. ♪

>> welcome back. this is "bottom line," on

bloomberg television and streaming on your phone, tablet, and on bloomberg.com. lesson of the equity markets finished. s&p roseose to -- the to another record. let's look at the numbers. the broader index was up to 180 8. dow was up. nasdaq was up six points. you the stories behind the numbers. su is in the newsroom with the details. >> a good evening. people get more comfortable with the idea that that may begin to taper. fed may begin to taper. could impact from the vockel rule create more ways? had this to say. >> it is a possibility we will

be going to far. watch and see. i am not being a pessimist. i am being pragmatic. -- i do think i know more about adult margins than most. i am alarmed it may be too far. it may have unintended issues. it could be impactful. >> today big movers include cisco systems soaring. biggest gain in a decade. and so the strain. a different story for mcdonald's. the fast food chain under pressure at reports sluggish sales in november. a petition is a big issue here and abroad. that competition is a big issue here and abroad. sinceggest monthly drop february. twitter up nine percent, the biggest one-day gain.

gmafter the bell, news from and texas instruments. what is the latest? --the treasury the market department announced it has sold all the gm shares. no longer government owned. it treasury secretary saying is important chapter of u.s. history that is closed. five years of government ownership. in may that $39 billion. investors are reacting to texas instruments. shares were up. they have fallen back into the last hour. the biggest maker of chips in the range of $.48. that is within the forecast. quotedalysts that we said industrial and automotive demand has been strong for this company. the first day of trading for the new american airlines. after completing the merger with us airways, a new by at deutsche

bank. >> thank you. the senate returns from recess. iran'se back some of nuclear, they are asking for a new round of economic sanctions against the islamic republic. president obama said he is committed to continued diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions over iran's program even as he puts the odds know better at 50%. ra joins me. good to see you. the president put the odds at 50-50. john kerry said he is unconvinced that i run a leaders -- iran's leaders will make the hard decisions to reach a final nuclear of court. what is the point of the talks? >> what you saw from president obama and secretary kerry was refreshing candor in authority at the state and pragmatism.

nobody is saying the deal is perfect and will succeed, it simply the alternative available. of the options on the table, the only thing that could work right now. it is going to be a better solution than simply imposing economic cost that cannot change iranian hater. >> limited sanctions as part of the preliminary accord. what is he going to mean for the country's economy and the average iranian? devon caught in the middle of the tensions between washington for over 30 years since the revolution. "limited," word is there will be relief. is a small percentage. congress wants to see more sanctions put on iran. if in six months there is no progress, i'd at research is pushing back. they said we have a firm

sanctions. -- the administration is pushing back. you will not see dramatic changes. you will see relief on sanctions that were lifted. the auto area and sanctions. >> what about the average iranian? they haven't caught in the middle. >> they have been in support of what is going on with the diplomatic deals. you will more support for raw honey -- rohani andy lee leeway. the iranians have been supportive as the american public. rohani leeway. picture.s a clearer >> what you have seen since 1979, iranians have been isolated. not been able to the oil revenues they had historically. billions lost. a huge part of their economic

progress. that is a key area. there been sanctions on automobiles, aviation, and all of these are things to watch for in the upcoming months to see how it changes. mentioned what is happening on capitol hill. president obama said it is a starting point but there are democrats and republicans who said they do not care. they want sections to be increased. they want us to ratchet up until we are clear and convinced they are no longer having nuclear capacity and to the centrifuges which can be used for nuclear energy but as other critics said, used to make nuclear bombs. this calls for tougher sanctions. is that going to derail the diplomacy underway? to get >> inot need do not need to give my opinion. the message that it will undermine.

that is going to derail. can congress passed a resolution? cheats, at some later point in time, event sanctions might be put in place. that might be a compromise measure. it does not like congress will have the time to put together comprehensive sanctions. they were needed to do it and if that tactic that is being described as a likely scenario. in the defense authorization bill that has to be passed by the end of the year. i do not think they will be able to get sanctions in a definitive way of greed upon by the close of the year. they might be up to get a resolution about future sanctions. is not the only diplomatic challenge. there is afghanistan. chuck hagel on a recent trip. what are the sticking points to a bilateral agreement hawaii has an afghan president karzai

signed off? there is still tension between the powers that be in the united states. >> it is quite troubling what we have seen in the past few weeks with karzai not willing to sign. we thought he was. -- it seems to be similar to what they were in iraq. not getting a sticking agreement. highlight deja vu. >> how bad is it? hagel would not meet with karzai? >> he snubbed karzai. karzai said he would not let -- you wantallow certain detainees released from guantanamo. he said he might be postponing signing an agreement until april. the u.s. is not ok. the end of they

year. they need to start planning the troops will stay. joined me.ler good to see you. coming up, shopping for bitcoin. the virtual currency scavenger hunt. ♪

>> digital currency, bitcoin, has had a wild ride. last week it plunged more than 20%. like baidu suspended accepting payments. so much focus, matt miller went to find out what one can actually do with a bitcoin. >> the incredible volatility of missed lastd not be

week. the price shot up to more than $1200 and dropped to $600 momentarily. we thought because of that and the media attention we should do something to really figure out what this is and how it works. theame up with the idea of 12 days of bitcoin. i will do something else every day. boughtthe first day, i one. it was more difficult. i went to a number of sites. blockchain.info. i had an a month issue. the each time, i had an issue. i would have to enter too much information that i do not feel comfortable with. i needed to have a visa card and i only use mastercard. ofh local bitcoin, a lot people who advertise bitcoin for a lower price than they were willing to sell when you actually gotten their or do not have any. want to people do not

let go. they are not easy to get. a bitcoin veryot easily by finding someone who had a one who was a buddy. cashave me one for $800 in and i will set about seeing how i can spend it tomorrow. we'll tell you all of the things you can abide. i bought a few pieces. i would try to good air jordan's and wine and maybe a miniature can, a vacation. all of the things i cannot afford with my bitcoin. the by a trip to space. that you can buy a trip to space. the different aspects of the currency. >> up next, top headlines including the preparations for the memorial service for nelson mandela. in ukraine and thailand. these and other stories when "bottom line" continues in just

a moment. ♪

♪ >> welcome back to the second line" onr of "bottom bloomberg television. i am mark crumpton. thank you for staying with us. as we hit the bottom of the hour on this monday, december 9, 2013, a big acquisition in the food industry. 500,g the most in the s&p a company that announced an agreement to buy its rival u.s. food and an $8.2 billion deal, and the s&p 500 index closed one point up above its previous level, the broader market at

1808. index, it composite was up about six points today, 4068. of the top some stories we are following for you. president obama and ban ki-moon will be among world leaders speaking at a mass memorial service for nelson mandela. obama, the first lady, and george w. bush and his wife la ura will arrive around 1:00 a.m. on tuesday -- mr. obama and others. bill clinton and timmy carter will join them in johannesburg. the service is tomorrow at a soccer stadium. that was where nelson mandela made his last appearance during the 2010 world cup. right police were out in full force in ukraine on monday after

the weekend to saw some of the biggest marches in the country since 2004. police also raided the headquarters of an opposition party and tore down. kate put up by antigovernment -- tore down barricades put up by antigovernment protesters. in bangkok, some are calling for the prime minister to stand down. prime minister xinhua truck called for new elections in an effort to diffuse the public anger against her -- prime minister shinawatra called for new elections. with the commodities report, su keenan joins us with details. >> two of the biggest movers in commodities, orange juice and natural gas, have everything to do with the weather. a bull market as dry weather threatened the output in florida.

20%, as youre than can see on the right-hand side of the chart. it is the smallest crop since 1990. the four-month high in futures --ces meanwhile, natural gas is the other big gainer, and a big winter storm pounded texas and tennessee, pushing gas -- nat gas to a six-month high. is an additional three to six inches forecast across northern new york and new england as well as washington, d.c., and temperatures are well, aboutdrop, as 15% below normal. and some areas not usually subjected to snow, it included eagles game in

philadelphia, turning it into a "snow bowl." there are bullish bets for natural gas. gas, energyatural futures were lower across the board with gold and metals higher on that weekend -- weakened dollar. and we are seeing hedge funds the least bullish on gold since 2004. ,et long positions in gold fell more than in five years, according to trading data last month. this was within half a percent of the record reached in july. lookinge, analysts were at the oil prices falling for a second week, it as they boost the oil supply. the bullish bets on oil are the

most since july. >> su keenan, thank you. nigeria has developed considerable wealth for a small percentage of its population, and the high level of wealth has led to an increasing appetite for luxury brands. bloomberg's tom gibson reports. these sparkling watches are not in the shop windows of london or zürich. is the largest city in nigeria. here, the wealthy used to have to go abroad for luxury staples. now, big brands come to them. >> it is a big luxury for the brands to be here. end, butat the highest there is also a middle class that is growing here that also wants access to luxury brands and brands from around the world. >> wealth flowed into nigeria as crude oil pumped out from 1960

on, and this is expected to grow in 2014, andent that is according to a bloomberg survey. unsurprisingly, international brands are keen to get a foothold. one of them is the german sports hasmaker porsche, which operations in victoria. largestis the fourth area globally for porsche, and the emerging markets are with chinare key, even with africa now. >> with more and more nigerians able to afford a 911, you can expect more flashy unveilings. bloomberg. >> up next, mercedes now sells 13 different models. 25 years ago, it sold just four.

we will look at a growing trend of designing models for your specific tastes. stay with us. ♪

>> bankrupt company. bankrupt city. >> what happened to the brand? >> we lost our way. brandear-old have what it takes? >> if you have recently been in the market for a mercedes, you might realize there are a lot of options, and the sedan a loan comes in five different sizes, comes in fivelone

different sizes, including the large s class. why so many models? we look at why luxury cars have been multiplying. mercedes sells a 13 different cars in the u.s., everything from the potential luxury four- door all of the way up to the coupe. ago, do you know how many models mercedes-benz sold in the u.s.? 4. udi and bmw have been going at it like rabbits too. the first reason is there is a whole lot more competition now than there was back in the 1980's. you have got $60,000 hyundais, for crying out loud. you have to go out and find as many customers as you can.

which, now you can do, given the massive amounts of data that they have to analyze the market. technology,again to now it is easier than ever for a carcompany to spin off different models using the same parts, things like the chassis and the engines, which can be shared, so each model does not require you to start from scratch. you had to sell 100,000 cars in a given model to break even, if that were the case, now you can sell them at each. cars mercedes stopped selling its r and others have some really clever things also. up, free agents'

signings. now, the general managers are in one place. "bottom line" continues in a moment. ♪

major league meetings are underway in florida. some big moves underway. i am joined in the studio. welcome back. the biggest moves by far. then jacobyoe, and ellsbury goes to the yankees. did the yankees paid too much -- did the yankees pay too much? >> a history of injuries. robinson, he does not run to base, but he averages about 158

games. >> he has only missed 14 games. >> the difference is he goes to a team that was desperate to make a splash. they needed a drawing card, somebody to go to the ballpark. cano does not have that. ratings were down. attendance was down, but cano does not have the same impact. to aen a player goes small-market team, what are the pluses and the minuses? >> i would not call them a small market. >> media market. >> they have a beautiful bar ballpark, one of my favorites. but the fact is, when you look at a team like seattle, they need to build from within, like the way the st. louis cardinals

did. but then they need to make one or two splashes to make sure ownership is committed. owners just want to show the effort. if owners show me the effort that says, when we go to an event like the winter meetings, my team has a chance -- the economicout winter meetings, is the playing ?ield close to being leveled >> it is, thanks to collective bargaining. to-one ratio,ne- and now, teams are unwilling to go over $189 million. i do not know how you can sign jacoby ellsbury and say that. pay luxury taxo money, and they would be the only team in history to do so, so baseball essentially has a salary cap, and even though it

is not a hard cap like the nfl, what you are seeing -- >> why did not the yankees re- sign robinson cano? gothey are not going to above seven years. gross over pay, and if you can more0 years elsewhere, power to you. he called their bluff and went out to seattle. remember, he went out to seattle with a nine-year yield in hand and then demanded a 10th the year, and i heard that they stormed out of the room and said, "we are not talking to you," and it was thought that he may be was watching it for his client. they need to change the face of the franchise. they hope to get a return on their investment. >> the busiest day of baseball yet to come, january 17. teams and players will exchange proposed figures in salary

arbitration. last year, for the first time since 1974, no players went to arbitration meetings. will we see that this year? >> they will try. arbitration has gotten agents great leverage, but the players are very turned off. agents have used this as leverage. don't want to put my client in front of a room where you say all of these negative things about them." fabricgone against the of why you are recruiting players to come to your team. the thought process is if you have to go to arbitration, that means your negotiation failed. there is no chance. and what i have seen, for example, clayton kershaw and others, forgoing their arbitration eligibility and signing long-term deals so they never have to go through that process. >> arbitration is seen as a

negative, like something went wrong in the earlier stages? >> the joke is that you play for a name on your jersey, and when you sit through one of those , it is all about the name on the back of the jersey. >> all well deserved and going to the hall. what about marvin miller and george steinbrenner? >> i think it shows the great in equity in the voting process. you and i have had this conversation in the past. those managers are well 2000 victories. marvin miller is a guy who revolutionized the sport. mostly on the work of his efforts, and george steinbrenner, the difference with him is there are negatives against steinbrenner. atwas banned from baseball one point. there are things considered against george steinbrenner, the in the bronx zoo era of

1980's. if you are under 30, you think of him as the owner who spent all the time when none of the other teams would, whereas in the past, you would consider the owner as a tremendous. in the late 1980's, they thought the agents could not win under the steinbrenner watch. ask don mattingly what it was like. it is a little different from what derek jeter would say. >> do you think steinbrenner would come close at some point? >> there needs to be an overhaul of the voting process. the voting process is constantly coming up with new committees. they are trying to figure this out. what they are trying to do is evolve and include electronic media, and the veterans -- everett, from fox sports

radio, thanks for joining us -- seth. ♪

>> all day tuesday, bloomberg television takes you inside ups. -- inside ups. be at their will hub in louisville, kentucky. per than 4 million packages day are sorted there during the holiday season, and we will have a live interview with the ceo, plus a story about an algorithm that is expected to save ups $50 million per year. all day on bloomberg television. tomorrow, it is all about

five u.s. agencies. after more than three years of resistance to limits on trading, our chief washington correspondent peter cook will withthe first interview the chief, who pushed other regulators for a tougher rule, and tomorrow we should know whether or not we have a budget deal. they have until friday to vote on something requiring the house to finalize a proposal. i will sit down with saxby chambliss at an event in washington. what else is going on? >> among be big earnings, we have smith and wesson, which will be reporting after the bell, and then there was the shooting in newtown, now one year later, we look at whether that surge in sales was a one- time boomer. and going inside silicon valley.

we will look at the facebook hardware lab, where engineers build and test designs to boost efficiency of data, and lastly, we have bitcoin day 2. oin,olleague bought a bic and we will look at 12 days of bitcoin excitement, and that is a look at tomorrow. >> thanks. it is time for our hotshots, some of the most compelling images of the day. in bethlehem, hundreds of people gathered in manger square for the annual christmas tree lighting. the tree stands in front of the church of the nativity, built on the site where christians believe jesus was born. christians make up a tiny minority there, one of the few places in the west bank and gaza where christmas festivities are

held. re-uitcake that cannot be gifted? it went through the city of dresden as part of the 20th fest, and it went on a horse-drawn carriage. when it got to the christmas market, it was sold, proceeds going to a local charity, and in london, a circus performer, the amazing, and it was the record for the most clueless who m -- ula hoops- the most h spun simultaneously. 200. who knew? get the latest headlines streaming on your tablet and on bloomberg online. that does it.

i am mark crumpton. thanks so much for joining us. i will see you tomorrow night. ♪